This invention relates to electrical connectors of the type comprising a receptacle and mating header and in particular to a receptacle which, when mounted such as in a printed circuit board, floats in a plane transverse to axial alignment of pins or sockets therein so that the receptacle and mating header can be blindly mated from an initially misaligned position.
Electrical connectors are frequenty used in subassemblies to interconnect circuits or components on one subassembly with circuits or components on another subassemby. The interconnection whether board to board, board to cable, etc. is often completed by a human during assembly of the final product from subassemblies. The human in the assembly process provides feedback to assure that when an electrical connector is employed, the header is aligned and mated with the receptacle.
Where electronic circuitry is drawer-mounted for removal for service or testing, the drawer-mounted circuitry is typically connected to a receptacle or header on the drawer that must mate upon insertion of the drawer with a mating header or receptacle. Although the drawer is guided by track mounting hardware generally aligning the receptacle and header for mating, the connector receptacie and header must provide for alignment of the pins and sockets therein. Posts having conical tips extending beyond the mating face of the receptacle that engage the interior of cylindrical post in the header have been used.